Husband and wife duo Amarante, aka Jysi and Josh Hewitt, have been creating, recording and producing their music themselves in Fresno, CA, since 2011. Their new album Udana Prana opens the door to new musical directions, adding touches of folk and hints of acoustic pop to their subdued ambient sound. Amarante – The Manic Backed by …
Local Natives released their sophomore album Hummingbird on January 29th via Frenchkiss Records. This highly awaited follow-up to their hugely successful 2009 debut Gorilla Manor was produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, who also performs and contributes songwriting on the record. Stream it in full on SoundCloud. If Gorilla Manor certainly had moments of charming quirky greatness, …
Sydney-based folk duo The Falls are Simon and Melinda. They met a few years ago at Hotel Hollywood in Surry Hills, they fell in love, they wrote songs, they fought, they made up, they broke up, they wrote songs. Almost subconsciously, they documented their whole relationship in their songs: the love, the betrayal, the heartbreak… The …
After a four-year break, Devendra Banhart is finally releasing his eighth studio album, Mala, via his new label home Nonesuch. The album is due out March 12 but the second single “Never Seen Such Good Things” is already streaming on SoundCloud. Mala took shape in Los Angeles, where Banhart and longtime cohort Noah Georgeson produced …
Based in Paris, Julie Hanse is a young French-American singer songwriter whose heartfelt compositions and powerful voice belie her age. Ever since she was fourteen, she has been writing songs that combine blues and folk, with just a dash of pop, and sharing them on the internet. Her latest composition is called “Homes” and it’s …
Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson and his band (bassist Mishka Stein, guitarist Simon Angell and drummer Robbie Kuster) wrapped up a triumphant European tour just a couple of days ago and they are now headed back to North America for another round of gigs promoting the album Adventures in Your Own Backyard. To mark their Autumn …
Valeska Steiner, born in Zürich, and Sonja Glass from Hamburg are the two girls behind oddly-named duo BOY. With influences ranging from the emotional indie sound of Bon Iver to the poppy liveliness of Feist, they make quirky pop songs sprinkled with folk arrangements and just a hint of melancholy. Their debut single “Little Numbers” …
Ben Howard is a young folk troubadour who will make you feel as though he is the first young folk troubadour you have ever heard. He gives new lustre to the genre, making it all seem brand new even as his songs have about them a quality and authenticity as old as the hills. Ben …
